Sports racquet frames include a head, which supports strings for hitting a ball or shuttlecock, and a handle which is gripped by the player to impart the hitting stroke. The handle, which is mounted on a shaft portion of the racquet frame, customarily is octagonal in configuration so as to provide a comfortable gripping surface. Traditionally, the handle included a core of wood, plastic, or other material wrapped with a textured leather or synthetic grip, and was constructed directly on the shaft portion of the frame so that the handle and frame became, for structural purposes, a unitary member.
Tennis racquets come in a variety of different constructions, so as to offer a range of diversity in playing characteristics, e.g. in terms of stiffness, power, weight, balance, maneuverability, and feel. Tennis players choose a racquet depending upon their level of skill and personal preferences. In order to satisfy different players, manufacturers must offer a selection of different racquet models.
In addition to offering a variety of racquet models, it is important that the handle be properly sized relative to the player's hand for comfort and a good grip. Since all tennis players do not have the same size hand, racquet manufacturers must offer each model of racquet in a range of grip sizes. As a practical matter, tennis pro shops and other sporting goods retailers (which normally sell more than one brand) need to stock a substantial inventory of tennis racquets of different models and grip sizes.
Commonly owned Nolan U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,082 recognizes the inventory problem that is created by having to stock tennis racquets in multiple grip sizes. Nolan thus proposes a tennis racquet having a shaft with an octagonal outer surface, and a cushion pallet which has a hollow, octagonal shape inner surface that slides onto the racquet shaft and is secured permanently on the shaft with adhesive.
The racquet handle system disclosed in Nolan permits the pallet to be molded separately from the racquet, which is greatly desirable, and allows the pallet to be mounted on the shaft after manufacture and held securely in permanent engagement with the shaft. However, while such handle pallets could be provided to retailers separate from the racquets, to cut down on the size of inventory, as a practical matter it would be difficult, without proper training, to ensure that retailers mount the pallets properly at the point of sale. There is thus the potential problem that retailers would not adhere the pallets properly on the shaft, leading to customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, commercial racquets that employ slide-on cushion pallets are still assembled at the factory.
As discussed in Nolan, there have been other proposals to make tennis racquets with handles that can be assembled by the retailer or purchaser. Such proposals provide handles which are provided with special mounting constructions so that the handles may slide onto the shank of the tennis racquet frame and be attached by screws. However, due to the considerable forces upon impact of the ball, these prior proposals have been unacceptable from a commercial standpoint, due to the difficulty of designing a mechanical attachment system in which the handle is as securely held, with as solid a feel, as in a unitary structure. Also, screw holes are undesirable because they tend to weaken the frame structure. It would thus be difficult to produce commercially such a racquet in which mechanical attachment systems would not tend to rattle, vibrate, or work themselves loose over time.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a handle system with a separate pallet that could readily and easily be mounted on the handle by the retailer, but which at the same time would be mounted as securely on the shaft as present systems, and which is easily replaceable.